Early Hours
by Cardgamesonmotorcycles
Summary: Every night at 1AM Ryou watched Bakura sneak out, every morning it would not be spoken of. Until the morning when Ryou went to the bathroom and found the sink splattered with red, and pinkish water in the bottom of the shower. It almost looked like... Tendershipping, Post-canon
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm here with a new chaptered story for y'all :)**

**This one will (eventually) be Tendershipping, but just a warning, it takes a VERY long time to get there**

**It's already written so I will try to upload weekly, probably on a Wednesday :)**

**CHAPTER WARNINGS- Abuse, description of injuries**

* * *

The red LED display on the battered alarm clock clicked over to 1am and, like clockwork, small noises came to Ryou's listening ears. His door clicks and the sound of light footsteps pad down the hallway, pausing outside Ryou's door. Ryou breathed loudly and deeply, pretending to be asleep. The thief must have been satisfied with this, as his stealthy feet trod almost silently down the normally creaky wooden stairs. Though now retired, he still had all the traits of a master thief. Ryou strained his ears to listen to him leave, the back door closed with barely any sound and Ryou got out of bed to peek at the figure in the yard through his curtains. The figure always snuck out at 1am, when the night was at it's darkest. The moon was covered in cloud and Ryou could barely make out the figures features, shoulder length white hair seemed to almost glow through the blackness, illuminating the mans face. Sharp features, deep crimson eyes and a permanent smirk. The figure rooted through the pockets of it's long black trench coat, pulling out a packet of cigarettes and a moment later a shiny silver lighter. The figure removed a single creamy white tube from the packet, placing the rest back in his pocket. He placed the cigarette between his lips almost delicately, then moved the lighter towards the unlit tip, the lighter roared into life, highlighting his figures in greater detail. A blue and white striped t-shirt under the long black trench coat, which had the collar pulled up, framing the mans face. Grey jeans and black converse finished the outfit. A shiny gold necklace rested around the mans slender neck, an Egyptian eye, surrounded by a circle of gold which had five sharp golden points hanging from it. The millennium ring. The cigarette was lit, smoke already lingering in the air, and the lighter put out, back into its pocket. The thief took one last look around the yard then strode off quickly into the night, jumping a low fence that divided the small yard from the alleyway behind.

Ryou sighed and closed the curtains, climbing back into bed. He was used to this by now, at first he hadn't noticed, but he remembered the first time he had seen Bakura leaving.

* * *

Ryou's sleep was broken by a small noise from under his window. He groggily slid upright in his bed and opened his curtains slightly, allowing the light of the moon to shine into the small room. He groaned at the brightness and squinted through sore eyes at the yard below. He could see a figure he recognised leaning against one of the walls, smoking a cigarette. Ryou's face screwed up in disgust, he hated smoking. But he was grateful Bakura wasn't doing it in the house like he used to. Ryou watched Bakura with interest, noting how he held his cigarette, how his slender fingers moved to tap off the ash that collected on the tip. Noticing the deeply relaxed look after every drag, the way his eyes would shut momentarily as he inhaled and the way his entire body seemed to relax as the cigarette grew smaller. Ryou smiled as he watched the thief, despite how much he hated smoking, he had to admit it suited Bakura. Ryou glanced away from the sight for a moment, checking the time on his alarm clock, just after 1am. Ryou raised his eyebrows in surprise, even for the thief it was very late to be up. Ryou focused his gaze back to the small yard, which was now deserted. The only sign Bakura had been there was a lightly glowing cigarette stub lying on the cracked concrete ground. Ryou's brow furrowed in confusion, he hadn't heard the back door close again, so he couldn't be in the house. Where had he gone?

Ryou yawned deeply, and decided it was too late to be solving mysteries. He got back into his warm bed, promising he'd ask Bakura in the morning.

* * *

Ryou put down his toast and looked up at Bakura, who was leaning against a counter in his pyjamas, a pair of sweatpants.

"Bakura?"

"Mm?" The thief turned round, slender white fingers wrapped around a mug of coffee.

"Where did you go last night?"

Bakuras eyes flashed red and Ryou began to tremble.

"I don't know what you're talking about Yadonushi." Bakura replied casually, taking another mouthful of his coffee, black, no sugar.

"I saw.." Ryou began, but a glance from Bakura was enough to silence him, the threat lingering in those cold eyes was enough to terrify him.

Bakura raised an eyebrow as Ryou 's voice trailed away. He smirked cruelly, drained the rest of his coffee and dumped the mug in the sink where it landed with a clang. It was probably chipped but Bakura didn't care, he stalked out of the kitchen to get his cigarettes from his room.

"But I know I saw-" Ryou began muttering to himself.

"I think you've been imagining things Yadonushi." The voice came from right behind Ryou, so close to his ear that he could feel Bakura's breath.

Ryou knew Bakura was waiting for him to agree, disagreeing would be.. well, let's just say he still had the scars.

"Yes, I must have been dreaming." Ryou said, voice shaking.

"Good baka." Bakura said, straightening up and ruffling Ryou's hair, chuckling when the boy flinched away, brown eyes full of fear.

* * *

It had continued like that for a couple of weeks. Every night Ryou would watch Bakura sneak out, every morning it would not be spoken of.

Until the morning when Ryou went to the bathroom to have a shower and found the sink was splattered with red, and there was pinkish water in the bottom of the shower. It almost looked like...

"Bakura?" Ryou called, worried he was injured.

"What?" The voice called coldly from the bottom of the stairs.

Ryou left the bathroom and ran down the stairs to Bakura, who stood in his usual sweatpants, drinking his morning coffee. The only difference was that today there was a large bandage wrapped round his bare torso, which was already speckled with crimson. Bakura raised his eye in amusement at his hosts wide eyed stare.

"Bakura.. how did you do this?" Ryou spoke up, looking into the eyes of his darker half, which were calm and unconcerned.

"I must have fallen out of bed." Bakura's smirk grew as he took another mouthful of his coffee.

Ryou rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer. He lifted his hand out to touch the bandage. The second his hand connected with the soft cotton he heard a mug shatter on the tile floor and his hand was savagely torn away by Bakura. Ryou whimpered at how tightly he was being gripped, Bakuras nails were digging into his soft white flesh, leaving deep marks.

"I've told you before baka, don't touch me." Bakuras grip tightened and he spat his words like they were acid.

Ryou whimpered and writhed in Bakura's grip, trying to free himself.

"Yami, please, it hurts." Ryou begged, hating himself for how pathetic he sounded, for giving in so easily.

"I don't think I will Hikari." he hissed, voice laced with contempt as he spat the last word. "I think you need to learn to keep your mouth shut and your hands to yourself."

Ryous eyes grew wider as Bakura loomed over him, eyes mad with anger and sadistic pleasure as he gripped Ryou's wrist more firmly.

"Please Bakura! Please! Let me go!" Ryous eyes filled with tears as Bakura twisted his wrist around to an unnatural angle. Ryou cried out in pain and Bakura smiled, showing his sharp feline teeth.

"I don't think you've learned your lesson yet." Bakura growled, giving Ryou's wrist one last, brutal twist. Bakura laughed as the bone snapped and Ryou screamed, tears leaking down his face.

"Now baka, what did I teach you today?" Bakura asked, sadistic gleam still in hs eyes.

Ryou's breath came in shaky gasps, the pain was making him light-headed and he barely heard Bakura's question.

A hand smashed into his cheek, knocking him to the ground where he huddled up into a protective ball, cradling his broken wrist.

"Answer me!" Bakura shouted, aiming kicks at Ryou's legs, arms, back.

Ryou trembled and cried out as every kick resonated through his body.

Bakura tired of kicking the boy and grabbed him by the neck of his jumper, holding him so his feet were dangling above the ground. Cruel red orbs met terrified soft brown. Bakura moved the boy closer to him, so their noses were almost touching.

"Please." Ryou sobbed.

"Answer the question and I'll let you go."

"I need to keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself." Ryou answered, voice shaking.

"Good yadonushi." Bakura replied, mad look leaving his eyes he dropped Ryou, causing the younger boy to cry out again as he landed heavily on the hard floor. "Now clean up this mess."

He aimed one more kick at Ryou, who squirmed to avoid it, earning a chuckle from Bakura who walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him, leaving Ryou to cry and tend his injuries the best he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**xfallenangel13x- I think many readers agree with you, Bakura is such a 'little bitch' as you put it :P Thanks for the scarily aggressive review.. it amused me :D**

**Mind links- ****'Bakura', **_'Ryou'_

** CHAPTER WARNINGS- Description of injuries**

* * *

Ryou shut his eyes as his door swung slowly open, a beam of pale light slicing through the room and leading to his bed. Ryou heard soft breathing and footsteps approaching the end of his bed and tried not to tremble. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep he'd leave. Ryou sensed the figure move round the bed until it stood directly above him, blocking out the light from the hallway beyond. A sudden weight beside him on the bed made his heart race in terror. Ryou squeezed his eyes shut more tightly, hiding his scared expression behind his white hair, which fell over his face, tickling his nose. A hand suddenly brushed across his forehead, moving the hair away. Surprised by the gentle movement, Ryou's breath hitched in his throat in a sort of strangled gasp, something that the keen-eared thief did not ignore.

"Go back to sleep Yadonushi." The hand was quickly removed from his hair, the cold voice cutting the air like a knife.

Ryou's eyes flickered open at the cruel, unfeeling words. He blinked up at Bakura, pulling the sheets around him protectively, swollen wrist held close to his rapidly thudding heart.

"What- What do you want Bakura?"

The Thief's eyebrows raised at being addressed so bravely, almost angrily, despite the clear fear in the boys eyes.

"I just came to check you hadn't bled to death or something. That would be..." The thief paused to consider his words. "most unfortunate." His eyes gleamed red and he chuckled at the terrified look on the smaller boys face.

He rose from the bed and turned to leave the room. Pausing in the doorway, hand on the doorknob, he turned back to face Ryou, face twisted in contempt.

"How did I end up with a Hikari as worthless as you? Even the Pharaohs brat isn't as pathetic." His tone was cruel and mocking, the words spat out like something disgusting. He swung the door shut behind him, leaving Ryou to cry in the dark, body throbbing.

* * *

**'Yadonushi.. please'**

Ryou woke up with a cry of surprise. Looking around the room nervously, wondering where Bakura was hiding and what he was going to do.

**'Yadonushi.. help'**

Ryou realised suddenly that Bakura was using the mind link, something he hadn't done for several months, ever since he discovered it meant Ryou could hear his thoughts. He had begun blocking it soon after, and Ryou had followed suit, not wanting his mind to be invaded. It was shortly after that the beatings began. At first it was just a punch or two for being late, or forgetting to cook Bakura's steak. But over time it escalated, once Bakura had even pushed him down the stairs, Ryou's side twinged as he remembered the pain when one of his ribs had broken and torn through his soft skin. He had broken more bones than he could remember, made more excuses than he would have liked, and lost too may friends because of him.

He hated him.

**'Please'**

The voice was weaker now, Ryou could sense Bakuras barriers breaking down, he could feel small waves of pain and even, fear? Ryou began to feel worried, Bakura was never afraid. Ryou was the weak one, the one who was scared of everything.

_'Bakura?'_

_'_**Please, help me'**

Ryou paused, wondering if this could be some sort of elaborate trick, a way of Bakura re-establishing his power over him. But a sudden sharp wave of pain from the mind link removed any doubtful thoughts.

_'Stay where you are, I'm coming'_

Ryou leapt out of bed, grabbing a hoodie and pulling it over his t-shirt, he pulled on a pair of trainers and set off into the night.

* * *

Using the newly opened mind link Ryou ran through the streets towards the alley where he knew Bakura lay. The wind drove the sharp rain into his face and within minutes he was freezing cold and soaked to the skin. But still he ran. The waves of pain coming through the mind link drove him on. As he reached the part of town where he knew Bakura was, he grew nervous. The pain was coming through the link constantly now, and the fear was more frequent too. Wherever Bakura was, he was seriously injured. Ryou paused to check the mind link, pinpointing Bakura's location then turned left sharply, down a narrow alley, lit by one weak yellow light. The alley was a dead-end, blocked off by a high brick wall that Ryou doubted even Bakura could climb. Ryou's footsteps slowed as he walked down the seemingly deserted alley, whatever had hurt Bakura could still be here somewhere.

"Bakura?" Ryou called, voice small and scared, almost drowned out by the pouring rain and savage winds.

**'Bin' **Bakura's voice was almost impossible to hear, but with that one word Ryou knew where to find him.

Where the alley ended there were two large metal bins, next to each other. Ryou approached them nervously, afraid of what he might find. He could see a hunched up figure leaning between them, white hair and pale skin glowing in the semi-darkness.

"Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed, straining to shove one of the heavy bins aside to illuminate the thief.

Ryou gasped at what he saw. Bakura's usually snow white hair was matted with blood, there was a cut down one cheek and blood had clotted on his face, dripping down his chin.

"Bakura?" Ryou's voice shook as he reached a trembling hand towards the thiefs coat, which was wrapped tightly around his body. He pulled it loose, igniting a fresh wave of pain through the mind link. Ryou gently shushed Bakura as he lent in to see. His t-shirt was soaked in blood. Ryou gasped, eyes wide in horror.

"Bakura.. I need to lift your t-shirt, I need to know how bad it is."

The only response was a small nod, Bakura seemed to be swaying in and out of consciousness.

Ryou grasped the hem of Bakura's t-shirt in his hands, then, carefully pulled it up. An agonized cry escaped Bakura's mouth and pain shot through the mind link, so strong that it almost over-balanced Ryou.

"I'm sorry Bakura, I have to see."

The thief didn't reply, having fallen unconscious again.

Ryou took one look at the deep, oozing gash that ran from Bakura's heart down to his stomach and ripped his phone out of his pocket, frantically dialling 999.

* * *

"Emergency surgery... Critical condition... Blood transfusion..." Words filtered through Ryou's mind, but he couldn't focus on what the doctor was saying to him, he was terrified. When the ambulance had arrived the paramedics had exchanged a look before puting Bakura in the ambulance, putting the sirens on and racing to the hospital, ignoring red lights. The whole journey had been a blur to Ryou, who could do nothing but stare at Bakura's limp frame as the paramedics frantically worked on him. He was certain that at one point Bakura's heart had stopped, but he wasn't even sure.

"Ryou?" The doctors concerned voice broke through his foggy mind.

"Huh?"

"Your friend's condition is very serious, we haven't been able to gauge the full extent of his injuries yet but he needs an emergency blood transfusion, he's in surgery right now. His chances of survival are slim. Does he have any family you want us to contact?"

Ryou shook his head, the words echoing through his mind. Bakura couldn't die. He was the thief king, he was invincible.

"He doesn't have any family."

The doctor nodded, rested a reassuring hand on Ryou's arm and guided him to a chair, where he all but collapsed.

"We'll keep you updated."

"Thank you." Ryou managed to say, but his voice was flat and lifeless.

Ryou lost count of how many hours he sat there, getting odd looks from doctors and patients. His top was covered in blood, it was splashed on his sweatpants, and when he went to the bathroom later he noticed it was flecked on his face, a harsh contrast to his ivory-white skin and hair.

Ryou must have fallen asleep on the hard plastic chair, because the next thing he knew he was being gently shaken awake by a smiling nurse.

"Good news, your friend pulled through, he's in the ICU but you should be allowed in to see him in a couple of hours."

Ryou looked up at the smiling face of the nurse, and allowed himself a small, trembling smile.

"Thankyou."

"You're welcome sweetie, I'll come and get you when you're okay to see him."

Ryou nodded his thanks, waited until she had gone, then burst into tears, not caring about the people all around him.

Bakura was okay, he was alive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for follows/favorites!**

******Mind links- ****'Bakura', **_'__Ryou_**_'_**

* * *

Ryou followed the nurse through a maze of identical corridors, scent of chemicals and blood making his stomach churn almost more than the fear and nervousness that had settled into a heavy ball in the pit of his stomach.

Ryous eyes lifted from his feet as he noticed the red line he and the nurse seemed to be following. Red reminded him of blood. Bakura's blood, which was still splashed on his face and clothes.

Ryou swallowed hard against a wave of nausea that rose in his throat.

"Nearly there now." The nurse smiled kindly back, forehead furrowed in concern for the pale, sickly looking boy who trailed after her.

Ryou was too nervous and queasy to respond and instead glanced at his surroundings as he walked through a noisy, chaotic ward marked 'Accident and Emergency.' On one bed doctors frantically administered CPR to a little girl in a yellow dress while her parents sobbed and wailed nearby. On another two solemn faced nurses lifted a sheet to cover the face of a young man, his blood instantly staining the pure white sheets.

Ryou recognised with a jolt the bed that Bakura had been on as the doctors had fought to stop his bleeding before he was rushed into surgery. Congealed red blood still covered the beds rumpled sheets and a small puddle of it lay on the floor where it had trickled down a pale white arm and dripped stickily to the ground. Ryou shivered and wrapped his arms around his small frame, whimpering slightly as he hurried past.

More and more identical winding corridors, til the pair finally reached a pair of swing doors marked 'Intensive care unit.' The ward was long, each side lined with occupied beds.

"He's in the bed at the very far left, will you be okay by yourself?" The nurse asked, smiling apologetically.

"Yes. Thank you." Was all Ryou managed to croak out.

The nurse gave him one last worried look then swept out of the ward, back to her duties, leaving Ryou alone.

Ryou swallowed and began walking through the middle of the ward, avoiding looking at the patients who he walked past. The halogen lights hurt Ryou's sleep deprived eyes and his blood covered trainers squeaked on the floor. A blue curtain had been pulled around the bed the nurse had pointed out, and Ryou stood in front of it for a moment, gathering his nerves and trying not to cry. Bakura didn't like it when he cried.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pulled the curtain aside slightly, stepping in and closing it behind himself. His eyes immediately flashed to the figure lying in the bed. His skin was deathly pale, and his white hair was still matted with blood, a stark contrast to the white sheets. His eyes were shut and his chest rose and fell evenly. His hospital gown had fallen off one shoulder and Ryou could just see a mass of bandages wrapped around his torso. Ryou walked shakily closer to the bed, legs feeling like lead. Bakura's usually flawless face was marred by a line of ugly black stitches that held together the cut on his cheek. Ryous legs trembled and he sank into a chair next to the bed, watching the mass of machines as they beeped and hummed. He found his eyes focusing on his heart monitor, watching as the spikes travelled across the red line in a regular, reassuring pattern. The beeps of the machines and noise of the ward slowly drifted away as he was lulled to sleep under the dull glow of the machines keeping Bakura alive.

* * *

**'Ryou?'**

A surprised voice filtered through Ryou's head and woke him up. He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the artificial light and rubbing them with the heels of his palms. For a minute he looked around him in confusion, then he suddenly remembered where he was and bolted upright in the chair. His eyes locked with Bakura's, who raised an eyebrow at Ryou's dishevelled, panicked appearance.

"Oh my God Bakura I fell asleep I'm so sorry I should have been awake!" Ryou babbled, eyes wide in alarm as he looked down at Bakuras amused face.

**'Calm down Yadonushi, it's fine.' **Bakura's face twisted into it's usual smirk for a moment, before he winced in pain and raised a shaking hand to his face, running his fingers along the stitches. The mind link was still not fully blocked and Ryou could hear Bakura's thoughts of pain, fear and, strangely, concern. Ryou's wide brown eyes scanned Bakura's face, blinking rapidly to try and prevent himself from crying. Bakura didn't like him crying.

**'How long have I been here?'**

Ryou checked the watch on his wrist, 5.34AM.

_'Nearly 26 hours.'_

Bakura nodded slowly, careful not to move too much and risk opening his wounds.

**'Help me sit up.' **It was an order, but Ryou was used to those.

_'Shouldn't we get a nurse?'_

Bakuras dark look was his only answer, and Ryou sighed and helped Bakura as he slowly shuffled upright in the bed, adjusting the pillows behind him so he'd be comfortable.

**'Have you been here the whole time?' **There it was again, that strange concern that flickered through Bakura's thoughts.

Ryou nodded.

**'You should have left after you rang the ambulance.' **Bakuras voice was bitter and Ryou looked up in shock, unable to say anything. **'In fact I was surprised you came at all.'**

_'You were in pain.'_

Bakura shrugged nonchalantly. **'I'm surprised you cared.'**

Ryou's face grew angry. _'What's that supposed to mean?'_

**'It means, Yadonushi. That leaving me to die would have benefited you more than saving me.' **His voice was cold, unfeeling.

_'How exactly?' _Ryou's voice was shaking and he could feel tears welling in his eyes. How could Bakura be so ungrateful?

Bakura scoffed quietly. **'Don't act so innocent. You know full well what I mean.' **Images of various beatings ran through Bakura's mind into Ryou's, who winced at the sudden barrage of painful memories.

**'The amount of times I hurt you Ryou, yet you still came for me.' **Bakura's eyes were wide with disbelief, but his mind was bitter and suspicious.

Ryou shrugged. _'You would have done the same for me.'_

Bakura chuckled at this, deep voice sending shivers down Ryous spine.

**'I think we both know thats not true Yadonushi. Shall we list the things I've done to you? The reasons to not save me?'**

Ryou didn't respond, he just stared at a speck of blood on his left trainer.

"Two broken ribs, one that punctured your skin. A broken wrist. That time I carved into your arm with a dagger. Those scars from the points on the millenium ring. Those burns on your back from my cigarettes. I stabbed you and you didn't stop bleeding for hours. When I pushed you down the stairs you got concussion. I've beaten you til you lost conciousness so many times I can't remember. You are always covered in bruises. When you begged me to stop, it just made me hurt you more. When you cry it lets me know I'm doing a good job. That I'm teaching you a lesson."

Ryou stared up at Bakura, eyes filling with tears.

"I deserved it. Like you said, you were teaching me a lesson." Ryou's eyes were dead, cold, devoid of all emotion, yet they leaked tears.

Bakura's eyes narrowed in anger and he reached out and grabbed Ryou's wrist angrily, ignoring Ryou's wince.

"Do you remember how I taught you not to cry?"

Ryou didn't answer, just allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks.

"Do you remember?" Bakura's thoughts were a mess of anger, hate and disgust and Ryou wanted to disappear. "I didn't let you eat for three days. By the end you were begging me for food. Begging, grovelling like a dog. So what did I do?" At this Bakura yanked up Ryous sleeve, revealing a series of deep scars.

"I cut you open, threatened you. Told you if you ever cried I'd do it again."

Ryou's eyes widened in alarm and he tried to pull his arm away from Bakura, tears glistening on his cheeks.

"Do you know why I didn't want you to cry?"

"Because it's weak and pathetic and you're sick of having such a puny Hikari." Ryou recited easily.

Bakura's grip loosened and his thoughts swam with shock and disgust.

**'No.'**

Ryou looked up as Bakura released his wrist, eyes running over the angry red nail marks his grip had left.

**'I didn't want you to cry because I knew it was my fault. I knew I was the reason you cried. And I hated that. I hate it when you cry. I hate it. Because I don't know how to make you stop. So I threaten you, and I hurt you, thinking that maybe if you hate me, you'll be angry instead of sad. But it doesn't work, you get that hurt puppy look. And I hate that too. So I have to beat it away. But still you don't hate me. Why? I've given you every reason to hate me. But you just don't. Or are you just stupid and believe you can change me?'**

Ryou's eyes locked with Bakura's and the tears ran down his cheeks even faster, wetting his blood stained t-shirt and leaving salty trails. Ryou shook his head.

_'I can't hate you for giving me what I deserve.'_

Bakura growled angrily and grabbed Ryou's chin, turning his head to face him.

**'How can you say that? How can you say you deserve it?'**

_'Because that's what you taught me. And if I forget what you teach me, you hurt me again.'_

Bakuras thoughts went scarily blank.

Then.

**'Get. Out.'**

_'What? Bakura..'_

**'I said get out.'**

_'But, why?'_

**'Because I said so, do you remember how I taught you to listen? A broken rib and two weeks off school I believe.'**

Ryou swallowed and stood from the chair. The threat providing the incentive he needed to leave. He didn't look back before he opened the curtains and walked through the ward, tears still running thick and fast down his face. If he had he might have seen the tears glittering in Bakura's crimson eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**xfallenangel13x- Oh, I'm sorry *hands more feels* though i think you might lose more in this chapter :/ I just love angst!**

**YamiBakura1988- Every Wednesday :)**

**Painty Bakura (Chapter 1)- Poor Ryou :( Don't worry, he's had lots of first aid practice, he has to living with Bakura!**

**Painty Bakura (Chapter 2)- What an accurate description of Bakura that was! And I'm glad too, it means tendershipping can (eventually) happen!**

**My apologies if my attempts at a Brooklyn accent are crap, I tried and thats all that matters. Right...?**

******Mind links- ****'Bakura', **_'__Ryou_**_'_**

* * *

Ryou walked through the hospitals dimly lit hallways, quiet at this late hour. He eventually found himself outside in a small courtyard, a fountain made calm splashing noises and the cool night air soothed him. He sat down on a bench and placed his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes so that yellow spots flashed in his vision. He groaned loudly and tried not to think of Bakura. Easier said than done. Ryou was annoyed. Annoyed with Bakura. Annoyed with himself. He curled up into a ball on the bench and a dry choked sob escaped his lips. Bakura was right. He really was pathetic. He sat there alone in the cold air and thought about all Bakura had done for him. Done to him more like. The memories of the various beatings ran through his head, but the pain was not what he remembered most, it was Bakura's expression. Angry, disgusted, hateful. The way he'd push him away afterwards, wiping his hands on his jeans, as if Ryou were contaminated and he couldn't stand to touch him. That was what upset Ryou most. He didn't really have friends. Not since Bakura put them into comas or scared them away. Even if he did have friends, he would barely see them. Ryou missed lots of school, Bakura was never too careful where he struck and often Ryou's face told a different story to his mouth. Ryou had begun to run out of excuses, the teachers growing more suspicious with every absence. Ryou sighed and stood up, pacing back and forward in front of the bench, winding a lock of white hair around one finger as he tried to work out what to do. Bakura had told him to get out. But Ryou wasn't sure if he meant the room, or the hospital, or his entire life. He was sure Bakura wouldn't miss him if he just dissapeared. Nobody would. He sunk to the ground and curled into a ball, hugging his knees close to him, tears racking his slender frame.

"Ryou?" A concerned voice came from the doorway into the hospital and Ryou looked up, drying his eyes on his already damp sleeve.

Tired brown eyes met worried honey and immediately looked away, ashamed.

"What'cha doing here Ryou?"

"Bakura got attacked." But Ryou was unsure, he didn't actually know what had happened.

There was a sharp intake of air from the other boy and he walked over to Ryou, placing an arm around his shoulders comfortingly and rubbing warmth into his cold back.

"Why don't'cha come inside, it's freezing out here."

Ryou nodded and sniffed, allowing Joey to pull him upright and lead him inside. Joey led him through the corridors to the virtually deserted cafeteria, a woman sat behind the counter reading a magazine and sipping on a mug of something hot.

"How long have ya been here Ryou?" Joey asked.

"I don't remember..." Ryou's head felt fuzzy, the humming of the drinks machines was giving him a headache and the artificial light made it difficult to sense time going by. He felt he could have been there years.

"Have ya eaten anythin'?"

Ryou shook his head.

"I'm gettin' ya sumthin to eat then, and a hot drink, you're freezin'."

Ryou tried to object, but a violent shiver racked his body and he simply nodded up at Joey.

Joey smiled and placed a hand on Ryou's shoulder, "Go sit down and I'll be back in a minute okay?"

Ryou nodded and walked away unsteadily, virtually collapsing into a wooden chair in a corner and resting his head on the table. He felt drained, despite how much he'd slept. His stomach gave an unhappy rumble and he realised how hungry he was. He heard a gentle chuckle behind him and turned to see Joey carrying a tray with two boxed sandwiched, two polystyrene cups and two cakes sealed in plastic. He sat down opposite Ryou and placed the tray in front of them.

"Dig in." He smiled, passing Ryou his sandwich and drink.

Egg salad, peach tea. Two of his favourites. Ryou allowed a small smile to grace his face.

"Thanks Joey."

Joey just waved his thanks away, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ryou eating hungrily and sipping his tea, feeling his muscles relax and his body slowly warm up.

"What are you doing here Joey?"

"I was visitin' my sister, she's in surgery now. It's a pretty long operation but I promised her I'd stay until she wakes up." Joey gave a small smile but Ryou could see the worry in his eyes.

Ryou nodded. "I'm sure she'll be fine Joey."

Joey smiled, "So what happened with Bakura?"

Ryou sighed, and relayed the entire story to Joey, who listened in a mixture of horror, concern and anger.

"Ryou, I'm so sorry. None of us knew. We just thought you were ill a lot. I mean we knew Bakura wasn't all that nice but we never imagined he'd do anything like that!"

Ryou just gave a small, cruel smile and drained the rest of his tea.

Joey gave Ryou one last pitying look and glanced down at his watch.

"Awh crap! It's 7AM! They said she'd be out of surgery by now! I'm really sorry Ryou I gotta go. I'll come to the ICU and check on you later okay?"

Ryou nodded. "It's fine Joey. I hope your sister's okay."

"Thanks Ryou!" Joey yelled back as he practically ran from the cafeteria.

Ryou sighed heavily and rested his head on the table. He hated being pitied. He sat there until 7.30 watching the cafeteria get busy, not sure what to do. Not wanting to go home, not wanting to stay. In the end he decided to go to the ICU and ask the nurses how Bakura was doing. Then he'd go home. Honest.

* * *

"Excuse me, are you Bakura Ryou?" A smiling nurse with pretty blonde curls stopped Ryou as he made his way to Bakuras bed.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Ryou played with his sleeve nervously, his mind instantly imagining worse case scenarios.

"Oh no, quite the opposite in fact. I just checked on your friend, he's doing well, he's not losing any more blood and he's managing to stay conscious. Of course he'll need to stay in for a week or so to be monitored, but it's looking good." The nurse smiled at the relief on Ryou's face as he let out an audible sigh and felt tears well in his eyes once again.

"Thank you." He smiled up at the nurse, words sincere and heart felt.

"Just doing my job," her face changed to one of concern, "are you okay? You've been here since he came in haven't you?"

Ryou nodded, noticing the nurses blue eyes flicker to the blood on his clothes, the bags under his eyes and his unusually messy hair.

"Is there anyone you'd like to ring? Family maybe?"

Ryou shook his head, "No thanks, I think I'll stay with him a bit longer."

The nurse didn't look too happy with his answer, but managed a small smile and rested a kindly hand on his shoulder, "If there's anything you need don't hesistate to ask Ryou."

Ryou managed a small smile and a nod of thanks, before the nurse turned to make her way to the nurses station. Ryou watched her walk away, silently thanking Ra and all the other Gods for keeping Bakura safe.

Once he reached the curtain around Bakura's bed he paused, hand resting nervously on the fabric.

**'Ryou?' **Bakura's voice sounded in Ryou's head, hesitant, nervous.

_'Don't call me that.' _Bitter, angry. Nothing like Ryou.

There was a tense pause.

**'I'm sorry.'**

Ryou pulled the curtain open angrily, tearing it shut behind him and striding to the bed.

_'What?'_

**'I.. I'm sorry.'**

Bakura's face was nervous, he was playing with the hem of the sheet on his bed and he was avoiding looking at Ryou. There were trails down his cheeks where tears had fallen and his eyes were red and puffy. He looked so unlike himself that Ryou began to laugh, quietly at first, a low chuckle, but it soon turned into full scale laughter. Ryou bent double, clutching the end of the bed for support, gasping for breath, laughing like a maniac. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the shock finally setting in. But Ryou didn't think he'd ever heard anything in his life as funny as Bakura, the proud Thief King of Kul Elna apologising. To him of all people! His pathetic, worthless, puny Yadonushi.

"Ryou?" The voice was timid, no doubt unnerved by his manic laughter.

Ryou whirled upright, laughter ceasing with Bakura's voice to be replaced with pure rage.

"I said not to call me that!"

Bakura actively flinched and Ryou smirked. A Bakura smirk. Any fear he had felt towards Bakura had faded. The boy lying in the bed in front of him was truly broken, defenceless. Now Ryou finally saw who the pathetic one was. His smirk grew.

"You called, oh great Thief King?"

Bakura's face twisted into a disgusted scowl at Ryou's sarcastic tone.

"You came back Yadonushi." Bakuras eyes glittered with malice, words dripping off his tongue like honey.

Ryou moved closer to the bed, laughing internally as Bakura watched him warily.

"Yes. Well, I thought it was only polite to say goodbye."

Bakuras eyes narrowed into crimson slits.

"I know how you've always taught me to use my manners. Please Bakura, Thank you Bakura, you are so generous Bakura, you spoil me Bakura." Ryou leaned close to Bakura's face, leering at him, voice mocking and face twisted in contempt.

Bakura made no attempt to reply, just glared into the face of his disobedient Yadonushi.

Ryou hovered in front of Bakura for a few more seconds, watching the fear and anger flit through his eyes before moving back to sit in the chair by the bed with a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, I always thought I was the pathetic one. But just look at you." Ryou's words were full of contempt and his sneer contorted his usually pleasant features into an ugly mask. "You had to call me for help. Me! Your pathetic Yadonushi. You were that afraid to die."

"Shut up." Bakuras face was scarlet with rage, red rimmed eyes oozing with fury.

"No! I won't obey you any more!"

"You will do as I say baka, or do you want me to beat you again?"

Ryou snorted at this. Eyes cruelly running up and down the figure of the immobilized boy.

"And how are you going to manage that, oh mighty Thief King?"

Bakura growled but didn't reply.

Ryou stood once again and loomed over Bakura, leaning over til his lips brushed his ear.

"Thats what I thought. Baka." He hissed, all his hatred, his loathing, his years of abuse spilling out in those few simple words.

"Go to hell!" Bakura snarled.

Ryou smirked cruelly, "Oh I plan to."

He turned smoothly on his heel and walked to the curtain, looking back to glare in contempt at the puny form of his Yami.

"Goodbye Bakura. Don't try to find me."

Bakuras eyes widened at this, then narrowed again in hate.

"You'll never escape me Ryou. You know that. How will you cope without me? I have kept a roof over your head, kept you fed, clothed, warm. What will you do without me?"

Ryou snorted, turning to face the curtain once more, one slender hand resting on the material.

"You know, it's almost like you don't want me to leave. But why would that be? I'm useless, pathetic, spineless. You've said it before. You should be jumping at the chance to get rid of me, and yet, you're practically begging me to stay. Well it's not going to work. I'll see you in Hell Bakura." He spat, before ripping the curtain aside and striding through the ward, ignoring the worried looks the nurses gave him as they saw his hateful expression.


	5. Chapter 5

**xfallenangel13x- I'm glad you could keep some feels! Yeah, I like Ryou with backbone too :)**

**YamiBakura1988- Thankyou!**

**Yugioh Lover 3- Thanks! x**

**Painty Bakura- Don't worry, Ryou's still as cute as ever, he's just snapped a little :P And thanks! *bows***

**Painty Bakura (Chapter 3)- Ah, you have seen Bakura's true thoughts :P**

**NOTE- I'm aware that richmond superking cigarettes don't actually say superking on the butts, but it was the only way I could think for Ryou to identify them :)**

**Also, Bakura isn't in this chapter! Has anybody seen his agent? (YGOTAS FTW)**

**CHAPTER WARNINGS- Language**

* * *

Ryou lay on his bed. Staring at the ceiling. It had been three weeks since he'd stormed out of the hospital and still no trace of Bakura had been seen. He hadn't been attending school, not that he'd been that regular a student, and nobody had seen him in any of his usual haunts. There had also been no reports of muggings, burglary or theft in the area, which would have been a sure sign the thief was recovered and working again. All in all, it was very odd, and made Ryou suspicious. The mind link had also been silent, as it had in the days of the beatings. Any walls that had been broken when Bakura was injured had been quickly rebuilt twice as strongly by Ryou, who had no intention of letting the Thief near him ever again.

Ryou sat up and rubbed his hands along his cold arms. The house was just so quiet. Usually he could hear the television when he fell asleep, then, at exactly one every night his sleeping ears would be aware of the back door opening then closing as the Thief left to do whatever it was he did in the dead of the night. It was difficult to sleep in such oppressive silence, it felt thick, like it was pressing in and suffocating him. He began to feel light-headed and sick and decided to step outside for some fresh air. He glanced at the clock by his bed, chuckling darkly at the irony. 1AM. He had woken at this time every night for months, and the absence of the Thief did nothing to alter it. He pulled on a hoodie and padded down the stairs, past the empty living room into the silent kitchen, occupied only by a lowly humming fridge. He unlocked the back door and stepped into the yard, freezing as his nose caught a familiar scent. Cigarette smoke. His brown eyes flicked round the small area, searching every shadow for traces of a presence. There was nobody there, but as Ryou stepped into the area blackened by the wall's shadow he saw a faint red glow on the floor. A still smoking cigarette butt. Ryou stubbed it out with his slippered foot and picked it up nervously. The neatly printed label on the filter reaffirmed his suspicions, Richmond superking. The cigarettes Bakura always smoked. Ryou let out a gasp and dropped the butt to the floor, hastily retreating to the house where he locked the back door and sank down it, head in his knees. Muttering and shaking

* * *

For weeks this continued. Every night, just after the numbers on Ryou's clock changed to 01:00AM he would climb out of bed and pad through the silent house to the yard in bare feet. He wasn't really sure why he did it every night. He supposed he wanted to make sure he wasn't going crazy or imagining things. But every night a faintly glowing Richmond superking butt could be found in the same spot. Ryou kept them. He put them in a tub in his kitchen drawer. Sometimes he went and looked at them, maybe even held them, counted them. He wasn't certain why.

* * *

Ryous eyes flicked open and he crawled out of bed. Hating Bakura for destroying his sleep, hating him for still controlling his life. He growled at the display on his clock. 01:00AM.

"Fuck you Bakura." He hissed at the clock, wearing a scowl and glare that the thief king himself would have been proud of.

Something felt different tonight, and Ryou didn't like it. He glanced out of his window down to the yard and could only see inky blackness, despite the light cast by the full moon. He furrowed his brow, something definitely felt wrong. He pulled on a hoodie and crept through the house, checking each room. Nothing amiss, nothing moved, nothing at all. But the nearer Ryou got to the yard the more nervous he became, the soft hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his arms broke out in goosebumps despite his warm hoodie. He paused, shaking hand on the keys that hung in the back door, making them jangle slightly. He laughed softly to himself for being so foolish and unlocked the door, swallowing and pushing it open to gaze into the blackness of the small yard.

His worried brown eyes scanned the ground until he saw it, the soft orange glow from a just dropped cigarette. He breathed a sigh of relief at the otherwise empty yard and started towards the butt, intending to extinguish it and add it to his strange collection. As he bent down to pick it up a slight noise from above him made him snap his head up sharply, ears pricked for danger. Atop the wall that surrounded the yard and led to the backstreet behind it a pair of deep crimson eyes glowed. The two pairs of eyes met, soft brown and bitter crimson and for a moment a look of shock sparked through the crimson eyes. Ryou gasped and started backing away towards the house, eyes never leaving those of the other. At his movement the figure swung off the wall into the backstreet, a flash of white hair Ryou's last sight of the intruder. Ryou let out a small whimper and all but ran into the house, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

It was Bakura. It had to have been. White hair was not common in Japan, in fact Bakura and Ryou were the only people in their school with white hair, and Ryou didn't know anyone else with eyes as red as Bakuras. It had to have been him. Ryou gulped, sinking shakily into a chair. He was terrified. He had known it was Bakura all along, but in some part of his mind he held a stubborn belief that it could be someone else. After all, anyone could throw a cigarette butt into his yard at 1AM, it was hardly difficult. But those crimson eyes and that flash white hair had shattered that theory. Now that Ryou knew it was Bakura he felt a deep sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. Why had he come back? Was he angry? Was he planning to hurt him again? This last thought made his stomach churn and he stood over the kitchen sink, retching until his stomach was empty.

He didn't remember falling asleep. He was woken by a knocking at his front door and opened his eyes to find he had fallen asleep at the kitchen table. He glanced up at the clock above the cooker and shot upright, he was late for school. He ran to the front door and opened it to reveal a cheery, if not confused looking Yugi.

"Come in sit down I just need to get dressed." Ryou explained quickly to the tricoloured boy, who smiled softly and made himself comfortable in the living room, something Ryou would never have let him do had Bakura still been there. The boy listened with amusement to the frantic sounds of Ryou dashing through the house to get ready, giving a small giggle when he heard a bump and a groan from Ryou, who had gotten his legs tangled in his school pants and fallen over. Ryou was ready in record time, racing into the front room looking dishevelled, hair sticking out wildly and shirt crumpled.

"Okay, let's go!" he smiled, grabbing his bag from the sofa next to Yugi and exiting the house after him.

* * *

"Are you sure Ryou?" Joey asked.

Ryou nodded slowly, "I'm sure Joey. Who else do you know with white hair and red eyes?"

Joey thought about this for a moment then conceded that Ryou was right with a shrug and a nod.

"Why would he come back though?"

Now it was Ryou's turn to shrug. "I don't know Joey, I just don't know."

* * *

After that Ryou stayed in bed when his clock changed to read 01:00AM, collecting the butts the next morning when it was light and he felt safer. The only problem was, now he was sure he was seeing things. He'd be on the way to school and would see a flash of white in the corner of his eyes, or the swish of a long black coat, but when he turned there would be nothing there. He was jumpy and his friends had started to notice.

"Are you okay Ryou? Your eye is twitching." Anzu's face was creased with worry as she surveyed her friend.

Ryou nodded, "Yeah I'm fine, just tired."

Anzu frowned and scolded him for staying up late, but Joey flashed Ryou an understanding look. Joey and Ryou had come to an agreement, everyone was told that Bakura had transferred to a special school due to his poor grades, they weren't to know anything about the abuse, or about the fact that he might now be back and possibly even stalking him. The agreement was working well, and for a while Ryou had been happy. For a while he'd been totally free of Bakura, not needing to live in fear, allowed to have friends, able to do what he wanted when he wanted. But he still hadn't been completely happy. It had been depressing, coming home to an empty house, having no-one to talk to. Being alone constantly. But now that Bakura might be back, Ryou didn't know how to feel. He couldn't say he'd missed him. But he had to admit he had felt, almost incomplete without him. He supposed that anyone in the situation would feel the same, Bakura was after all, half of his soul and had resided in his body for years. It was only because of Yugi that he had got his own body. Yugi had wanted to free his own Yami because he loved him, Marik because he despised his Yami and wanted to be freed from him, and Ryou? Well, Ryou wasn't even sure why he'd wanted Bakura freed. But when Bakura found out about Yugis plan, Ryou had no choice but to agree. He had to admit, it was much more peaceful having his body to himself. Ryou knew better than to ask what Bakura used his body for, but he had woken before with blood on his hands and bruises on his body. Of course, Yugi's plan had worked well for him and Marik. Yami and Yugi were dating, and Marik's Yami had moved to his homeland of Egypt, leaving Marik free. It had backfired badly for Ryou, but he'd never had the heart to tell Yugi or his Yami, though Ryou was sure the Pharoah suspected.


	6. Chapter 6

**I am SO sorry I didn't upload on Wednesday, it totally slipped my mind! So it's here now and you'll get the next chapter on Wednesday as usual.**

**xfallenangel13x- I actually hadn't thought of that :P I may have to write it into a later chapter, thanks for the idea! Sorry you had to wait so long for answers :( I'll update on time from now on I promise!**

**YamiBakura1988- Thankyou!**

**White Weasel- Ah, thankyou! Glad you've enjoyed it thus far!**

**Painty Bakura- Haha, creepy Bakura :) And I'm going to write it in later on! Thanks for the idea.. it hadn't occurred to me :P**

**CHAPTER WARNINGS- Language**

**Mind Links- 'Bakura' **_'Ryou'_

* * *

It had now been almost 6 months since Bakuras 'accident' and there had still been no sightings of him. Ryou wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried about it, especially as the cigarette butts continued to appear in his yard every night.

Everything stayed the same, Ryou followed the same dull, monotonous routine, his school grades and attendance improved and he finally had proper friends. The marks from Bakura's abuse were fading and Ryou was healthier than ever. But he still felt strangely alone without the thief. He no longer woke at 1am, and slept through the night, waking up the next day feeling refreshed and pleased that Bakura had lost at least that control on his life. He still collected the cigarette butt every morning, the tub was now nearly full, a constant reminder of Bakuras presence.

Ryou's life remained a happy bubble, he spent time with friends after school and even invited them over to his house for sleepovers and movie nights, something Bakura would not have allowed. Everything was going smoothly, until a cold day in late November. Ryou had planned to go to the yard as usual to collect the cigarette butt, only to look out of his window and find a fine layer of snow covering everything. He had trouble pushing the back door open against the snow, which had been blown into a drift by the strong winds. He immediately dropped the idea of collecting the butt, as it would no doubt be buried under the snow which had fallen and settled sometime during the night. He tested the depth of the snow with his foot, smiling in delight as the majority of his slippered foot disappeared into the snow. He giggled as he wondered if school would be shut and was about to return inside when he noticed a something black poking out of the ground behind the bins. He approached cautiously, not remembering putting anything in the yard recently. He stepped into the snow, immediately soaking through his thin slippers, chilling his feet and walked carefully through it to investigate. A horrified gasp left his mouth as he saw what it was. Bakura was leaning against the bin, covered in a light layer of snow. His skin was a pasty, sickly white and his lips were blue with cold. His face was thin and his cheeks were hollow. His eyes were shut and his breathing was slow and irregular.

"Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed, reaching forward to shake his shoulder, but the thief's eyes remained shut. "Shit."

Ryou grabbed Bakuras arms and half pulled half dragged him through the snowy yard into the house. He was scarily light. Ryou carried him to the living room, lying him down on the sofa.

"Bakura!" No response. "Shit!"

His clothes were soaked through, long black coat heavy and dripping onto the carpet. Ryou sucked up his fear and peeled all of Bakuras clothes off except his boxers, which were thankfully dry. His ribs showed clearly through his pale skin, and he looked exhausted, eyes surrounded with dark circles. Bakuras skin was icy and he was shaking violently. Ryou ran to his room, dragging his bedding down the stairs with him and covering Bakura in his duvet and blanket. He reluctantly began rubbing warmth into Bakura's freezing arms, noticing that they were skin and bone, and lacked the muscle they had boasted before. Bakuras skin was gradually regaining a slightly pink tint, and his lips were no longer blue. But he still did not wake up, and Ryou was beginning to get scared.

"Bakura!" He shouted, slapping the thiefs face lightly. There was no response.

There was only one more method Ryou could think of. He had spent months building walls to keep him out, and now in one simple action he would turn them all to rubble.

_'Bakura?'_

Crimson eyes fluttered open. Frozen lungs took a shaky breath and released a violent, hacking cough that shook Bakuras frail body. Ryou watched in fear and horror as Bakura doubled over with the force of the cough, eyes watering. But what worried him most were the faint blood speckles that now graced Bakura's hand. Bakura finally finished coughing and looked around in confusion, and what could have been fear, if the thief could feel fear. His crimson eyes came to settle on Ryou, who stood next to the sofa, playing with his hands nervously. Ryou regarded Bakura with nervousness, like you might a wild animal.

**'Ryou?' **The thiefs voice was disbelieving.

Ryou nodded, stepping closer to the sofa and kneeling down.

**'What happened?'**

_'I don't know. I just went into the yard and you were lying there in the snow. What do you remember last?'_

**'I was climbing over the wall to have my cigarette.' **Here he shot a slightly guilty look at Ryou. **'Then I don't remember.'**

_'You must have fallen off the wall then.'_

Bakura nodded, surveying Ryou with obvious fascination. Ryou squirmed under his intense gaze, shifting nervously from his position on the floor. Bakura lifted a hand towards his face and he instinctively flinched away from the white fingers. The hand was swifty withdrawn, a pained look shooting across Bakura's tired features before he turned to face away from Ryou, face buried in the back of the sofa.

_'I'll get you some food. I'll be right back.' _Ryou stood from his position on the floor, the atmosphere in the room was heavy and uncomfortable, and he just wanted to get out of there. Bakura didn't respond and Ryou just sighed and left the room, wondering if he would ever get rid of Bakura now.

Unbenownst to him, his open mind link allowed Bakura to hear his every thought. A couple of rooms away from Ryou, a white-haired thief felt a single warm tear slide down his cold cheek and trickle from his chin.

'I was happy without him. I could do what I wanted.' Ryou sighed, pausing his thoughts as he heard a slight sound from the front room. It almost sounded like a... whimper?

_'Bakura?' _Ryou abandoned the pan of soup he was heating in favor of checking the frail Thief who had once again disrupted his life. He paused outside the door to the living room, listening nervously, thinking of tricks and elaborate schemes. What he didn't expect was to enter to the sounds of gentle sobbing, with Bakura curled up into the foetal position on the sofa, face pressed into the cushions as his body shook.

_'Bakura..' _Ryou asked nervously. It was a trick. It had to be a trick. Bakura never cried. There was no response and Ryou began to feel awkward as he simply stood there and watched him cry. _'Are you.. crying?'_

A laugh sounded from the sofa, although to Ryou's ears it sounded a bit choked, and the Thief rolled over to face him. His face was damp and his eyes were red, his lips still tinted slightly blue from the cold.

**'I don't cry Yadonushi. You thought so yourself.' **His expression was dark and his red rimmed eyes were filled with rage and unshed tears.

Ryou flinched as a sudden wave of disgust spread through the mind link between them, feeling momentarily pathetic and weak until he realised the disgust was not aimed at him, but at... _'Bakura?'_

More feelings of disgust and disappointment spread through the mind link, all shared by Bakura, aimed at Bakura. A sudden dark feeling of red raw hatred spread through the link and the tears in Bakuras dull crimson eyes fell silently, trailing down his cold, pale skin.

Ryou didn't know what to do but stand and stare as Bakura tortured himself with these cruel thoughts. He didn't know what had happened in the months Bakura had been missing, but the silently crying boy in front of him was not the same person who had once beaten and mistreated him.

"Bakura." Ryou whispered, reaching out a gentle hand and placing it on Bakuras cold arm. Bakura looked up in alarm at the touch and flinched away, pushing Ryou's hand away from him. His mind link was a whirl of emotions, anger, hatred, disgust, confusion and guilt. Overwhelming guilt. The mind link's power was immense and Ryou felt himself grow light headed from the pressure of all the feelings rushing through his head. Bakura let out a choked sob as Ryou moved away from him, and a small wisp of what could have been disappointment spread through the mind link between them, quickly blotted out by a flash of anger.

Ryou was scared. He hated to admit it, but Bakura's broken, puny state was much more terrifying to him than his past angry and volatile personality.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hai guys! It's me with an update, on time this week! *woo!***

**Rueky Ishtar- Hehe, thankyou!**

**yb- Thank you :)**

**xfallenangel13x- I know, poor Baku :( But now he has his Yadonushi again!**

**Painty Bakura- I sure mistreat him :( yeah, Bakura crying would be suspicious :P Thanks!**

**CHAPTER WARNINGS- Injuries, probably bad language**

**Mind Links- 'Bakura' **_'Ryou'_

* * *

It had been three weeks since Bakura had flung himself back into Ryou's life, and the two had pretty much fallen back into their old routine. The only difference now was that neither spoke to the other. Ryou would wake early as usual and prepare breakfast, a slice of toast for him, and a fry up for Bakura. Ryou would eat his own breakfast and leave for school as Bakura awoke, Bakura would nod to Ryou as he left and sit to eat his own breakfast. The same followed with each meal, Ryou would make two portions, eat his own and leave Bakura to eat his once Ryou had finished. Bakura would leave his plate in the sink for Ryou to clean, just like always then disappear to watch TV while Ryou cleaned up. Ryou tried to avoid being in the same room as Bakura, the endless silence that stretched between them was just too awkward for him to handle. But occasionally the two would meet, there would be no conversation, they would just work around each other. Ryou would sit and do homework as Bakura silently ate his meal, or Ryou would read as Bakura watched TV. The strain of living in such awkward conditions was beginning to show, and Ryou became snappy and harsh at school, leaving many of his newly found friends hurt and confused about his behaviour. Joey was the only one who understood, having been phoned by a frantic Ryou on the night Bakura had reappeared. Joey tried his best to explain Ryou's behaviour to his friends, but one by one they had enough, and Ryou was slowly pushed out of the group. Three weeks of living in silence was driving Ryou to his limit. he began to hate Bakura more than he had ever though possible, even more than when he used to beat him. One night he decided he'd had enough and decided to confront him. But when it came to it, he took one look at the subdued Thief and gave up, deciding instead to allow Bakura to make the first move.

* * *

Ryou hummed quietly to himself as he washed up the pots from dinner, hands immersed in the warm soapy water. He felt quite peaceful, he always liked washing up, there was something almost therapeutic about taking something dirty and washing all the grime away until it was clean and perfect again. He had just finished washing a plate and went to put it on the draining board to dry when-

"Ryou."

The plate fell to the floor where it smashed, scattering across the kitchen and Ryou span round, mouth open in shock.

Bakura stood before him, one eyebrow raised and his mouth twisted up into his usual smirk. His arms were crossed over his chest and he held a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in one hand.

"Sorry," he said, smirk growing at the surprise and distrust on Ryou's face.

"It's fine, you just startled me is all." Ryou replied, light blush dusting his face. "Did you want something?"

Bakuras smirk fell at Ryous businesslike tone and he shuffled uncomfortably.

Now it was Ryous time to raise an eyebrow.

"I just thought that.." His voice trailed away and he sighed. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm going for a smoke."

Ryou nodded and turned away, going into the cupboard under the sink to retrieve the dustpan and brush, it wasn't a good idea to leave that broken plate there, someone could cut themself.

He heard a sigh from behind him, but didn't turn and instead bent down and began sweeping up the ruined plate. He could steel feel Bakuras presence behind him, but ignored the feeling of eyes on his back on continued to sweep up the floor, collecting every bit of the white pottery. A low growl sounded and he tensed, half expecting to be grabbed and dragged upright, as had happened so many times before. But all Ryou heard was Bakuras footsteps across the kitchen, then the backdoor opening and being closed roughly, slam ringing through the silent house.

As Ryou carefully emptied the dustpan into the bin he couldn't help but wonder just what Bakura had wanted to say. He shrugged to himself, thinking that it couldn't have been that important, and decided to take advantage of the empty living room to watch some TV.

* * *

"When I was in the hospital." Bakura started speaking suddenly, voice raised over the crappy show on the TV. Ryou glanced up, then, noticing Bakura showed no sign of stopping, muted the set, turning to face him.

"What about it?" Ryou asked, noting that Bakura's face held a vacant expression as he stared into space.

"When I told you to get out."

Ryou bristled slightly at this, the memory still hurt and carried bitter feelings.

"Do you know why I said it?"

"No." Ryou replied shortly, wondering where this conversation was leading.

Bakura sighed and rubbed his temples with a hand before continuing.

"You were being so Ra-damned passive. Just accepting everything I said. It was like I'd brainwashed you or something! You remembered every fucking word I said to you months before! You were acting like a robot, repeating commands."

Ryou felt anger growing in his chest, "Well you did have a way of making lessons sticking in my head. What was it? A broken rib for not listening, three days of starvation to not cry?"

Bakura winced, a pained look spreading across his face.

"I explained the crying one in the hospital. I don't like seeing you cry."

"Well you sure did enough things to cause it considering you don't like it!"

"I was trying to make you angry! To make you fight back! For you to prove I hadn't brainwashed you beyond recovery! I needed proof that you were still you! That I hadn't broken you!" Bakuras face was red and he was shouting, Ryou flinched back into the sofa, afraid the old Bakura was back. "See, you're even doing it now, letting me yell at you! You don't even try to defend yourself, you just sit there and cower!"

"Well I figured there was no point trying to defend myself after you nearly killed me so many times! How am I supposed to fight someone stronger than me? Besides, you were the one that told me I was pathetic and weak. I believed you, figured there was no way someone as weak as me could stop someone like you when you were angry."

"Thats what I mean! I brainwashed you! You weren't yourself anymore! So I tried to get you back the only way I knew how! I just wanted you back Ryou." Bakura was stood by now, towering over Ryou's shaking form, fists balled in anger as he shouted, not thinking before he spoke.

Ryou's eyes shot up in surprise as Bakura said his name with such affection and sadness.

"You made me your puppet, it's too late to cut the strings now." Ryou spat, anger suddenly making him brave he stood so he was face to face with Bakura. "Now get out of my way."

Bakuras eyes widened in shock then narrowed again as he moved backwards, allowing Ryou to push past him roughly and leave the room. Bakura stayed stood in the same position as the front door slammed, leaving him confused and angry. He let out a cry of rage and punched the wall beside his hand, ignoring the pain ripping through his arm, he did it again, and again, until his hand was dripping blood and the wall was smeared with it. Then he sank to the ground and sat there in a daze, staring blankly at the silent images on the TV.

* * *

Ryou quietly opened the door to the house, shutting it slowly so he wouldn't wake Bakura and carefully locking it behind him. His head turned to the left as he heard a quiet noise from the front room, he paused to glance at his watch, forehead furrowing in surprise as he realised how late it was, 3:20AM. He had stayed out longer than intended, just wandering round the dark streets of Domino, thinking over what Bakura had said to him. He sighed and shook his head, deciding to leave it til tomorrow when they would both be better rested. He removed his coat and hung it on one of the hooks behind the front door, then he began to creep slowly up the stairs. Another small noise from the living room caught his attention and he turned round on the stairs, curiosity overtaking his fatigue.

He poked his head around the door frame cautiously, peering round the dimly lit room. He was surprised to see that the TV was still turned on, bands of white static sliding down the screen. He stepped further into the room, intending to turn the TV off and go to bed, but as he reached towards the sofa for the remote he noticed a small fleck of blood on the door frame. His eyes widened and followed the occasional specks of blood until he saw a patch of ripped wallpaper, covered in congealed red blood, shining unpleasantly in the flickering light. His eyes ran down the wall, following a line of red where the blood had trickled down the wall to meet the carpet. He stood in the dark room, shivering in fright, looking around anxiously for the source of the blood.

_'Bakura?'_ He tried cautiously, not expecting a response.

"Yeah?" Came a sudden voice from the corner of the room, hidden behind the sofa.

"Holy shit Bakura!" Ryou yelled, jumping about a foot in the air and grabbing his chest, feeling his heart pounding.

"Language Hikari." Ryou could hear the smirk in Bakura's voice.

"Bakura? What the hell did you do?" Ryou demanded, stalking across the room to stand before the 'oh-so-amusing' Thief. For once, he decided, he was going to find out what was going on and why Bakura was acting so strangely. But the sight of Bakura's swollen, bruised hand and his face, streaked with blood toppled Ryou's determination immediately. He dropped to his knees in front of Bakura, mouth open in shock and eyes still wide with fear.

"Bakura? What did you do?" His mouth felt dry and he was afraid, so very afraid that Bakura had snapped and gone back to his old self.

"I punched the wall a few times. Nothing to panic about." Bakura reassured, amused smirk showing pointed canines that shone in the dim light of the TV.

Ryou felt his eyebrow twitch at the Thiefs relaxed attitude and had to restrain himself from strangling him. Instead he sighed and reached towards the insufferable tomb robber, ignoring the pain that crossed his face and the sharp intake of breath as he took his hand gently into his own, soft brown eyes searching to judge the severity of the self-inflicted injury.

"What's your diagnosis, Doctor Ryou?" Bakura questioned, smirk increasing tenfold and a wicked glitter appearing in his eyes at the irritated look that flashed across Ryou's face.

Ryou dropped Bakuras hand suddenly, causing him to hiss as it hit the ground with a dull thump.

"It's definitely broken." Ryou said coldly. "You've bruised it pretty bad and you've cut your knuckles open. The swelling should go down in a couple of days."

Ryou stood up to leave the room, intending to get the first aid kit and some ice, but Bakuras uninjured hand reached up to grasp the hem of his t-shirt.

"Where do you think you're going yadonushi?"

Ryou flinched at the threatening tone but pulled away from Bakura's grasp with a scowl.

"I'm getting the first aid kit so I can clean you up."

Bakura growled, but allowed Ryou to leave the room and pulled himself off the ground to collapse on a blood flecked sofa, wincing at the pain that shot up his arm.

Ryou returned a moment later, green first aid kit in one hand and a bag of ice in the other, face set in an emotionless mask. He kneeled on the floor in front of the sofa and held his hand out to Bakura, who grudgingly placed his own hand in it. Ryou removed some cotton wool and some antiseptic liquid from the kit and, coating the cotton wool in the liquid, gently dabbed at the Thiefs hand. Bakura growled and went to pull his hand away from the stinging liquid but Ryou had his wrist in a firm grip and he couldn't get free.

"If you hadn't punched the wall you wouldn't be in pain." Ryou said, beginning to clean the blood away with less gentle wipes, "baka."

Bakura chuckled darkly at Ryous whispered insult, but allowed the younger boy to continue cleaning the clotted blood from his hand. When the blood had been wiped away both Ryou and Bakura were able to see the damage better and Ryou sucked in a breath.

Bakura smirked and looked down at his massively swollen hand, it was covered in green, yellow and livid purple bruises and was at least twice it's normal size. Small cuts littered his knuckles, some still oozing blood.

"Jesus Bakura, how hard did you hit the damn thing?"

"I hit it more than once." He conceded, looking slightly ashamed at Ryou's horrified glance and hanging his head low.

Ryou sighed and shook his head, reaching back into the first aid kit for a roll of bandages, which he carefully wrapped around Bakura's knuckles, stopping the bleeding.

Bakura bit his lip and tried to hide the pain from Ryou, but a small whimper escaped his tightly clenched lips and Ryou glanced up, seeing the pain flickering in his crimson eyes.

"Sorry Bakura, but it needs to be sorted out. You should go to the hospital really."

"No!" Bakura suddenly shouted, wrenching his hand away and clutching it close to his chest. "I'm not going back there."

Ryou's head furrowed in concern, the waves of fear and regret crashing through the mind link confusing him. "Okay, you don't have to. Hold this on it, it'll help with the swelling." He held up the ice and Bakura took it with a small nod, gently applying it to his newly bandaged hand and wincing.

Ryou sat before him for a few moments in silence, allowing himself to focus on the Thief's feelings which were flowing between the mind link. An overwhelming feeling of sadness reached him and he felt tears inexplicably grow in his eyes. He looked up at Bakura and was shocked to see tears silently rolling down his face as he held his hand close to him.

"Bakura.." The Thiefs head jerked up in surprise, as if he was unaware Ryou was still there.

"Go to bed. It's late." His cold, detached tone didn't allow argument, so Ryou silently rose and padded to the door, pausing just outside it to take one last glance at the still crying Yami.

"Ryou." A quiet voice cut through the silence.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Ryou's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he felt a small smile grow on his face.

"You're welcome. Night Bakura."

There was no reply, but Ryou climbed the stairs that night with his heart feeling lighter than it had in months. He didn't know what had happened to Bakura, but whatever it was, it had changed him for the good.

* * *

**Does this chapter make it very obvious that I work as a pot washer and love it?**

**I couldn't resist putting that in! Anyway, hope you guys involved this slightly happier chapter! See you next Wednesday!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay I'm seriously confused that this was in my uploaded doc's folder but I hadn't added it to my story, so sorry for that guys!**

**This is the last written chapter I have for this, and I'd be happy to finish it here but there are some loose ends I need to tie up, so another update will come I'm just not sure when!**

**xfallenangel13x- Oh good lord... I laughed so much at 'passionate monkey sex' :P I'm afraid you won't be getting any for this story :( Sorry**

**Painty Bakura- They're clearly destined to be together :3 and after what happened last time he was in one I'm not surprised he's scared :(**

* * *

Ryou awoke late the next day to bright sunlight streaming through his curtains, he groaned and rolled over to look at his clock, 12.34PM. His eyes widened in alarm until he realised it was a Saturday so he wasn't horribly late to school. He sat on the edge of his bed and stretched, pyjama top riding up to reveal a strip of pure white skin.

"You're awake then." Came an amused voice from his doorway and his arms dropped down, covering the skin again, a flash of disappointment crossing the Thiefs face.

He nodded shyly, embarrassed at having slept so late.

"How's your hand?" Ryou enquired, stepping up from the bed and striding over to Bakura to take a closer look. The bandages had remained white, so the bleeding had stopped and the swelling seemed to have gone down a lot. "It looks better already. Does it hurt?"

The Thief shrugged nonchalantly, "not much." He turned to leave the room but paused at the top of the stairs, "Get dressed, I've made dinner."

Ryou's eyes once again widened in shock. Bakura was cooking? A second later a flash of panic appeared in his eyes, and he hurriedly pulled on a t-shirt and some jeans, before flying down the stairs and skidding into the kitchen, nose searching for burning.

Bakura raised an eyebrow at his dishevelled appearance and sudden entrance as he stirred something in a pan on the stove. Ryou paused in the doorway, suddenly awkward.

"Something wrong?" Bakura questioned, removing two bowls from the cupboard and beginning to empty the contents of the pan into them.

Ryou rapidly shook his head and took a seat at the breakfast bar, watching Bakura sprinkle cheese on top of each meal before carrying them over to the table, which he noted had been set with cutlery and glasses of water.

"Thanks." Ryou said as a bowl of steaming hot pasta topped with a generous amount of melted cheese was placed before him. He felt his mouth watering as he inhaled the delicious smell. "I didn't know you could cook."

"There are lots of things you don't know about me." Bakura said cryptically, before lifting his fork and digging into his own bowl of pasta.

Ryou watched the Thief for a moment, then, cautiously lifted a forkful of the pasta to his own mouth, chewing slowly. His face broke into a smile as he swallowed.

"This is delicious Bakura!" He exclaimed, too focused on the food to notice the blush that lingered on Bakura's cheeks or the slight upward quirk of his mouth that could be mistaken for a smile.

They ate in silence, Ryou making small appreciative noises as he practically devoured the pasta and Bakura eating with difficulty due to his fork holding hand being heavily bandaged.

Ryou finished first and sat back in his chair with a contented sigh, licking red pasta sauce off his lips and fingers, a sight Bakura watched with interest.

"That was really nice Bakura, you should cook more often."

Bakura smirked as he finished his own bowl of pasta, "Don't be getting ideas."

To Ryou's surprise Bakura gathered the dirty pots and took them to the sink, which he proceeded to fill with hot water and washing up liquid. Ryou felt his eyebrows would shoot right off his head as Bakura then proceeded to wash them up, something which had never happened before. Bakura must have sensed Ryou's disbelieving stare as he turned round with a smirk.

"Yes?"

"You.. You're washing up." Ryou managed to stutter.

"Very observant."

"You never wash up." Ryou remarked, walking over to the draining board and picking up a tea towel to dry up.

"Well you like it so much, I figured I'd see what the fuss was about."

"Oh." Was all Ryou managed to say, and they stayed there in comfortable silence, Bakura washing and Ryou drying and putting away.

Ryou seemed to spend the rest of the day in a state of constant surprise, Bakura let him choose what to watch on TV and paid for a takeaway for their tea. The fact he paid for it with stolen money made no difference to Ryou, Bakura never spent his money on anyone but himself.

They ended up sat on the sofa, eating pizza and watching a film of Ryous choosing, which meant a comedy, rather than the blood filled horror Bakura would have chosen. Ryou found himself eating his pizza slower and slower, as he was too astonished by Bakura's occasional chuckles at the film and the fact that he had slowly, and unnoticed by Ryou, slid across the sofa towards him until their thighs and arms were pressed together, producing an alarmingly pleasant warmth to flow through Ryou.

It was getting late and Ryou was asleep before the film ended, head resting on Bakura's shoulder.

"Ryou." Bakura said quietly, in a hopeless attempt to wake the sleeping boy.

He sighed, but gave his peacefully sleeping Hikari a small smile before carefully removing himself from the sofa and gently picking Ryou up. He carried him up the stairs bridal style, unable to stifle a blush when the sleeping boy snuggled into his chest and sighed contentedly. He gently placed Ryou down on his bed, removing his jeans to reveal perfect milky white legs, he forced himself to look away and instead lifted the sheets to cover Ryou's lightly snoring body. He tucked the sheets in around the sleeping form and took a moment to just watch Ryou's peaceful sleeping form, his skin seemed to shine in the moonlight that streamed in through his window and his white hair made him look almost angelic. Bakura sat on the bed and ran a hesitant hand through Ryou's hair, pleased with how soft it felt under his fingers. On impulse he leant forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his Hikari's forehead, relishing in the smell of coconut that came from his hair and the gentle sounds of his breathing. Bakura stood from the bed and strode to the door, pausing to take one last look at his sleeping light, a smile lingered on the boys sleeping face and he snuggled further under his duvet. Bakura allowed a gentle smile to appear on his face, thinking that he should be nice to his Hikari more often, he liked it when he smiled.

"Night, Ryou." he whispered, silently closing the door and heading to his own bed.

* * *

Sunday followed in a similar manner, Bakura was uncharacteristically friendly and Ryou felt himself becoming more comfortable around the Thief than he ever had before. It was nice, that was the only way Ryou could describe it. It was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't threatening him or putting him down. Bakura also seemed to enjoy it, his smirk seemed less vicious, and sometimes it could even be seen as a smile, although if Ryou noticed he didn't bring it up. Bakura took it upon himself to wash up after every meal, even with his broken hand, and once even sent Ryou to watch TV while he cleared up, to which Ryou could only open and shut his mouth uselessly and follow the tomb robbers orders. It was during this occasion that Ryou discovered how atrocious Sunday afternoon TV was, and decided to instead watch Bakura wash up and maybe have a conversation. He walked cautiously into the kitchen, half expecting Bakura to be annoyed with him for disobeying him, but was instead surprised to find Bakura up to his elbows in washing up water, a small smile gracing his face and a soft tune escaping through his lips. Ryou quietly took a seat at the breakfast bar and listened with interest to the song the Thief was gently singing, he could just make out the lyrics over the splashing water and clinking pots.

"Hush now, my baby, Be still, love, don't cry, Sleep as you're rocked by the stream, Sleep and remember my last lullaby, So I'll be with you when you dream." Bakuras voice trailed off as he finished the song, and Ryou felt strangely sad and empty when his voice ceased.

"My mother used to sing it to me." Bakura said, eyes never leaving the sink, hands never-ceasing in their task. "Before.." His voice trailed off and he sighed quietly.

"Before what?" Ryou asked, moving over to stand beside the Thief.

"Before she died." Bakura finished quietly, placing the last glass on the draining board and pulling out the plug, the sound of gurgling water the only thing in the kitchen for a short moment.

"I'm sorry." Ryou said, placing a hand on Bakura's forearm. The Thief's eyes flickered up to met his and a wave of understanding passed between them. "My mother died too."

Bakura nodded, "And your sister."

Ryous eyes widened in shock, he had never told Bakura how he had lost his family, he always got the feeling that the Thief didn't care.

"Mind link." Bakura simply said, tapping the side of his head with a faint smirk.

Ryou smiled and chuckled, he already knew about the massacre of Kul Elna. During the last duel between Bakura and the Pharoah, the Pharoah had regained his memories and the horrible truth of Bakuras past came to light. Ryou couldn't remember much of Atems reaction as he had been locked away in his soul room, he just remembered seeing horrific images flashing through Bakuras head. He still had nightmares about them sometimes, and he had the feeling Bakura did too.

The two of them just stood together for a while in the kitchen, each quietly mourning their losses. Ryou thought of Amane's wide green eyes, her soft white hair, and the way she used to pester him non stop to play with her dolls. He swallowed back tears as he remembered how she had looked laid out in her coffin, wearing her prettiest dress and clutching her most precious doll in her arms. A doll that Ryou had bought her for Christmas a couple of years before, he had saved his pocket-money for months to buy it, and as he had expected, Amane loved it, she took it everywhere with her, and now it was with her forever, a little reminder of her big brother. His thoughts wandered to his mother, soft honey brown eyes, like Ryou's own, hands rough from hours of washing up and cleaning. He remembered that she smelt of vanilla, and the safe feeling that scent had brought him since her death. Like being enveloped in one of her loving hugs, arms tightly around him, gently rocking him as he cried. He remembered her kissing his knee when he scraped it, and although he knew it had no real effect, always feeling better when she had. Ryou sniffed and became aware of warm tears trickling down his cheeks and a hollow feeling in his chest, like he had lost a part of himself along with them.

Bakuras eyes were hard and glassy, betraying no emotion, but the tension in his muscles and the slight twitch of his lip betrayed his grief and anger. He had lost his family in the worst way possible, they had been murdered. Thrown into a pot of molten gold along with everyone else he knew from his village, their bodies had been made into the seven millennium items that he had spent the first half of his life searching for, trying to destroy them and appease his loved ones. He remembered the horror on Pharoah Atems face and the heartfelt apology he had received, which he had not been expecting. He remembered falling to his knees and screaming at the sky, head flung back, all his rage, pain and loneliness escaping in that long, terrifying roar. He remembered Atems gentle hand on his shoulder, and his piercing crimson eyes, filled with tears for people he had never known, people he wasn't responsible for. That was the first time Bakura had broken down since he was a child, he allowed the tears to roll down his face even as Atem strode away to the afterlife, even as Yugi begged him not to go. He remembered Ryou's persistent askings over the mind link, confused and disoriented as he was, he remembered that was the first night he had spent without Ryou since the boy had been given the millennium ring. He also remembered that when he and Atem were granted new bodies by the Gods, the first thing he had done upon reaching Earth had been to seek out Ryou, needing to know at least one person in his life still remained. Memories of beatings and cruel words and tears, so many of Ryou's tears flowed through his mind, making him feel sick.

A quiet sniff drew Bakura from his memories and he looked up to see Ryou's gentle face, contorted with pain and with crystal tears escaping his wide brown eyes. He felt something twist in his chest at the sight, and before he knew what he was doing he had wrapped his arms around the boy, drawing his head onto his shoulder and running his fingers through his hair, gently shushing him. Ryou stiffened in his touch at first, but with more soft strokes of his hair and muttered reassurances, Ryou wrapped his own arms around the Thief, holding him tight, allowing his tears to fall and create a damp patch on Bakura's striped t-shirt. They stood like that for a long time, Ryou crying softly and Bakura comforting him, finally doing the job a Yami should. Ryous tears slowly ceased, and he sighed shakily, leaning into Bakura and inhaling the smell of blood and cigarettes and, strangely a faint trace of vanilla that made Ryous breath hitch. Bakura continued to stroke Ryou's hair, receiving as much comfort from the motion as the recipient. Bakura began to gently hum, the vibrations of his chest spreading through Ryou's body as he recognised the tune, it was the lullaby Bakuras mother used to sing him. Ryou felt a small smile work its way onto his face, looking out of place amongst the tear tracks and red eyes. Eventually, the tune finished and Bakura drew back, shuffling slightly awkwardly.

"Thanks," Ryou said, slightly hesitantly, "Kura."

Bakuras eyes shot up at the childhood nickname and he smirked a smile-like smirk.

"Anytime. Ry."

Now it was Ryous time to be surprised by the nickname, smile widening as he felt the warmth running through Bakuras mind link into his own, and surely being sent back. Ryou lifted his hand to wipe his face dry, blocking out his view of Bakura for a moment. When he lowered his hand again he saw the back door swinging shut behind Bakura as he headed out for a cigarette. Ryou smiled, some things never change.

* * *

**I'll be very impressed if anyone can tell me the name of the song/film from which lyrics I used :) Clue, it's from an animated film.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry this is so ridiculously late, I've had no time to write and my laptop is dying badly :/**

**But yes, this chapter has plot development yaaay!**

**I'm surprised at how many of you know prince of Egypt :) It makes me happeh :3**

**Slashed-silhouette- Awh thankyou! And yeah, I tried to make it fairly realistic. Glad you like it :)**

**Rueky Ishtar- You have a point :/ I did try to write a lullaby of my own but I suck at things like that and that one seemed appropriate so.. sorry to let you down :(**

**xfallenangel13x- I love that movie too :P Yaay for the feels! every review with the funnyness.. :L**

**3789976- Haha, I imagine it was a beautiful image :)**

* * *

"Bakura?" Ryou queried, placing his chopsticks back into his bowl of noodles hesitantly.

"Hm?" Bakura asked around rather a huge mouthful.

"You know, before you went into hospital?"

Bakura swallowed his noodles and stared at Ryou with narrowed eyes. "What about it?"

Ryou coughed awkwardly, Bakura had been acting much nicer lately, but he was still nervous around him. "Well I was just wondering, what happened?"

Bakura's eyes flashed crimson for a moment. "I told you it wasn't important."

It was true that Ryou had tried asking once before, but he had been cut off with a cold response in a no-nonsense tone and he had enough sense to not try to pry deeper. But Bakura had been in an extra good mood today, he had even helped Ryou with his coursework on Ancient Egypt. The noodles they were eating now had been ordered and paid for by Bakura, a last-minute 'treat' for Ryou, who had been sitting exams all week. Even the slightly mocking tone of Bakura's voice couldn't dim the blush that had spread up his cheeks and the feeling of joy at the friendship that had finally formed between them.

Bakura sighed as Ryou continued to look at him, and eventually lowered his own chopsticks. "Fine, I'll tell you."

Ryou perked up with excitement, noodles all but forgotten.

"But I swear to Ra if you tell anyone you won't live long enough to regret it."

Ryou just nodded, well used to the Thief's threats by now and all too aware that he would never carry them out.

"I was just doing a job like usual, and some guy comes over, not one of my regulars. He asked if I had anything for him, so I told him what I had and he asked to look at it, to check the quality and stuff."

Ryou blinked blankly. "What?"

Bakura rolled his eyebrows, "drugs, baka."

Ryou's mouth hung open in surprise and his eyebrows had practically disappeared into his hair. "Drugs? You, you were dealing?"

"Yes Ryou, now do you want to hear the rest of the story?

Ryou visibly squirmed, the urge to lecture Bakura was extremely high, but he eventually managed a stiff nod.

"Right. So I give this guy some to have a look at, and he says he'll take it. So I asked him for the money and he starts bullshitting me about not having it now but paying me later. I always take money before they get their stuff, it's just smarter that way. So he refused to pay and then just went apeshit and started beating the crap out of me, caught me by surprise. Otherwise I would've won."

Ryou rolled his eyes, "Of course you would have."

Bakura practically swelled at the praise before continuing. "But then the guy pulled a knife on me, my knife actually, bastard must've stolen it from me somehow."

Ryou fought the urge to laugh at this, the great Thief King being robbed, a glare from Bakura stopped his giggles though.

"He attacked me and then left me in that alley. He must've taken my stuff cause the hospital didn't find anything suspicious. So then I decided to call you, and, it worked."

An awkward silence fell over the two of them, broken only by Bakura frantically stuffing noodles into his mouth.

"Is that what happened the other time? Did a deal go bad then too?" Ryou's mind flicked back to the bloody water in the shower and tha bandages round Bakura's chest.

Bakura nodded curtly and scooped up the last of his noodles. "Tried to con me out of $70, cheap bastard. He got what was coming to him."

Ryou's eyes widened and Bakura sighed again, "I didn't kill him, just.. messed him up a bit."

That wasn't particularily reassuring to Ryou, but he supposed it was good that Bakura was being honest with him.

"So, why were you doing it?"

"For shits and giggles." Ryou's unimpressed face met his, "For the money, obviously."

Ryou's face twisted in confusion, "but we have plenty of money, Dad sends cheques every month and pays for the rent. I even have enough savings to get me through University."

"You have plenty of money." Bakura corrected him, eyeing up Ryou's noodles in a not very subtle manner.

"Well we've always shared it before, how come you wanted your own?" Ryou pushed his bowl over the table to the Thief, who began shovelling them into his mouth with gusto.

"I was saving for something."

Ryou cocked his head to the side, noting how Bakura began eating with even more speed as his eyes remained on him. It was almost as if he was embarrassed.

"What for?"

"It's a secret." Bakura smirked, licking his lips clean of sauce for what Ryou thought was an indecent amount of time.

"Fine." Ryou remarked, finally tearing his eyes away from Bakura's pointed tongue. "Don't tell me."

"Alright then." Bakura remarked, much to Ryou's annoyance. He carried the bowls to the sink and binned the wooden chopsticks. "What d'you wanna do tonight?"

Ryou shrugged, "Whatever."

"Why don't you go pick a film then? I'll be through in a minute."

Ryou nodded, figuring Bakura was going out for a cigarette and went into the living room, kneeling down to look at the stacks of alphabetized DVD's, quickly finding the one he wanted and pulling it out, careful to leave a space so he knew where to return it to afterwards. He put it in the DVD player and turned on the TV, skipping the trailers until he reached the menu screen where he paused, uncertain whether to start without Bakura. In the end he decided not to, and muted the irritating loop of music, listening instead to Bakura's movements from the kitchen. His nose wrinkled with annoyance as the smell of smoke hit him far too hard to be coming from outside, he rolled his eyes but decided not to mention it. Bakura had a strange habit of doing the washing up with a cigarette in his mouth, though how he didn't drop it Ryou didn't know. At least he was doing the washing up, Ryou though, eyes flickering to his right hand, where the skin was dry and beginning to crack, red raw patches on his otherwise flawless white skin. He ran his hand over it contemplatively, feeling how scaly it was.

"You okay?" The voice from behind him startled him and he jerked up straighter on the sofa. "You been using that cream the doctor gave you?"

Ryou nodded, surprised Bakura even remembered, let alone knew what he had been looking at with such annoyance.

"What's that?" Ryou asked, noticing for the first time that Bakura was carrying two bowls with him.

"Dessert." Bakura replied simply, handing him one as if it was completely normal for him to not only pay for takeaway, but also to go out and buy dessert too.

"Umm, thanks." Ryou replied, taking the bowl nervously, and jabbing the unknown, and huge, portion of dessert with his spoon.

Bakura chuckled darkly and sat himself on the sofa next to him, uncomfortably close as usual, so their legs brushed. "It won't kill you. It's Mississippi mud pie, there's ice-cream in there too."

Ryou blinked at his bowl. It looked nothing liked Mississippi mud pie, obviously Bakura's serving skills could use some practice, and the ice-cream was nowhere to be found, he'd obviously put it in first them covered it in sloppily served pie.

"Thanks Kura." Ryou said, surprise clear in his voice. Before taking a spoonful of the pudding and eating it cautiously.

"Well?" Bakura asked, eyes glinting with amusement.

"It's good!" Ryou beamed, blushing slightly at the almost tender look Bakura gave him.

"Good." Bakura smiled, "You gunna put the film on?"

Ryou's eyes widened around another mouthful of pie and he searched for the remotes, un-muting the TV then starting the film. Bakura reached up a moment later to turn off the light and leave them in relative darkness, before settling himself down beside Ryou, absorbing each others warmth and eating their desserts.

Bakura was surprised when the title of the film came onto the screen and turned to Ryou with a frown. "I thought you didn't like scary stuff?"

"Hot fuzz isn't that scary, I think it's funny, and I knew you'd like all the blood." Ryou smiled.

The surprise was obvious on Bakura's face and Ryou giggled, covering his chocolate stained mouth with a hand. His giggling soon stopped though when Bakura moved closer and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

"Thanks, Ry."

* * *

**Also I love hot fuzz so, there it is :P**

**The dry hand thing cause of washing up is based on me too, 11 hours washing up a week doesn't do good things to your skin people :P**

**And the alphabetized DVD's is something I do too, and books and CD's, it just makes stuff easier to find! Don't judge me.. *mutters to self***


End file.
